How To Grow A Pineapple From Another Pineapple Top: Easy & Fun! (With Pictures)

Who doesn’t love fresh pineapple?  It is what summer and pina coladas are made of.  But, did you know that you could take a pineapple right now and turn it into another pineapple in a few months time?  And then another… and another…  That’s right… you can grow your own pineapple plant from just the top of a pineapple!  In this post, I will show you just how simple it is to grow a pineapple from another pineapple top.  Go ahead… slice and enjoy the delicious pineapple fruit, but do not toss its top away!  Instead, when you chop off the top, also known as the fruit’s “crown,” save it and follow the directions below to turn that pineapple top it into a plant that will yield a beautiful and delicious pineapple in a few months.

Plus, not only will you have delicious fruit to look forward to, you will have a brand new exotic tropical pineapple plant that will repeatedly bear fruit with proper care.

**Also, find out how you can turn 3 potatoes into 30 with just a trash bag in this post, “How To Grow Potatoes In A Bag Easily In Small Spaces…”

**Don’t forget to check out the best tips to create your own tomato container garden for the freshest, homegrown tomatoes ever here…

Now, let’s grow a pineapple… but first, let’s find out if you can grow yours outdoors…

Where Can You Grow A Potted Pineapple Plant Outdoors?

While you can grow your container pineapple plant either indoors or outdoors, outdoors is ideal to accommodate the plant’s space requirements.  You can grow pineapple plants outdoors in areas that rarely experience freezing temperatures, such as USDA plant growing zones 10 or 11.  Find out if you live in either of these zones where you can grow your potted pineapple plant outside by using this handy, interactive USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map.  If not, no worries — just make some room near your sunniest window.

How To Grow Your Own Pineapple In A Few Easy Steps

What You Will Need:

1 healthy pineapple

1 sharp knife

1 medium-large container with drainage

potting soil

Step 1: Start With A Healthy Pineapple With A Healthy Green Top (Crown)

This is basic but it really is the most important part.  You must start with a healthy pineapple with a robust crown.  If you buy a pineapple with a brown, dry or rotten crown, or, heaven forbid, none at all, won’t get much of anything growing.  A healthy crown means your pineapple should have a healthy green, spiky, “leafy” top.  Your future pineapple plant will only be able to grow from a healthy green pineapple crown, so pick the best-looking, healthiest one you can find.

Step 2: Slice The Top (Crown) Of The Pineapple

Take a sharp knife and carefully slice the whole leafy green top (crown) and stem of the pineapple so your results look like the picture below.  This ensures you get the whole top (crown) as illustrated in the photo.  You may now place the cut pineapple top aside for a few hours to dry out or “cure.”    This drying out process minimizes the chance of rot.  There is really no need to let the crown dry for days.  As a matter of fact, I have planted pineapple crowns in soil shortly after cutting them without issue, so a few hours should be sufficient.

Step 3: Plant Your Pineapple Top (Crown)

I have heard of different planting techniques including ones involving water, but such methods may be more work than is necessary.  Of course, if it works for you, by all means, don’t change it!  However, I personally have relied on one pineapple growing method that has never let me down, so this is the one I am sharing here…

Choose A Large Size Container For Your Pineapple Plant

Make sure you select a medium to large container with drainage since your pineapple plant will grow quite large.  Next, fill your container with potting soil.  Then simply plant your pineapple top (crown) into the potting soil so that its lowest leaves are just above the soil as shown in the image below.  Pack the soil tightly around the crown stem to provide support.

Step 4: Position Your Potted Pineapple Crown In An Ideal Location

Give Your Potted Pineapple Plant Some Sun

Place your potted pineapple plant in a location where it will receive a good amount of bright sunlight.  From my experience growing numerous potted pineapples, pots placed in shadier spots such as covered porches, will take quite a bit longer to fruit.  For those of you who plan to grow your potted pineapple plant indoors, your best bet is to find a sunny South-facing window for optimal sunlight (and faster fruiting).

Step 5: Water Your Potted Pineapple Plant

Once you have planted your pineapple top, make sure to water it everyday for two weeks.  Watering your plant consistently early on is most important so your plant can establish roots.  After these first two weeks, you can be more relaxed about watering, and water as needed to prevent it from drying out.

Step 6: Wait & Enjoy Your New Tropical Foliage

Don’t be alarmed if you don’t see any fruit right away.  Your pineapple plant will take weeks to months to fruit — especially if it is a new plant and preparing to fruit for the first time.  Each time the plant fruits, however, it does seem to happen quicker as the plant grows more robust.  Simply enjoy the striking tropical foliage, and in no time, you will see a baby pineapple emerge…

Step 7: Harvest Your Fully Developed Pineapple

Once your pineapple grows to a full-size, you can harvest it by slicing the stem with a sharp knife directly beneath the fruit.  It is tempting to let the fruit continue to grow as big as possible, but remember, at least when growing your plant outdoors, all the little animals may also have their eyes and noses trained on that tempting fruit as well…  If you wait too long, you may find your brand new pineapple already has some bite marks!

Once you have removed your pineapple cleanly from the stem, leave the plant alone, watering it occasionally so it doesn’t dry out and, in no time, another baby pineapple will appear.

As long as your pineapple plant has healthy green growth, a little bit of time and nature’s magic will turn that spiky tropical foliage into another whole new pineapple before you know it!

**Don’t forget to check out the best tips to create your own tomato container garden for the freshest, homegrown tomatoes ever here…

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Have you tried growing pineapples in containers?  Let us know how they grew in the comments!